The Dominican Republic’s Yvonne Losos de Muñiz left her best performance with her own Aquamarijn to their last test, pulling off a 71.596% victory in the Grand Prix Special CDI3*, presented by Grand Prix Services. It was the final class on the last day of the 12-week 2018 Adequan® Global Dressage Festival (AGDF) held at Palm Beach International Equestrian Center (PBIEC) in Wellington, Florida.
Their score was a personal best for the pair in any CDI grand prix — including freestyle — and was also the 13-year-old Dutch mare’s first ever international win. “It’s a lovely, sweet ending to the season that the last anthem is the Dominican one; I thought that was kind of cool,” beamed the 50-year-old. “My other grand prix horse Foco Loco is doing amazingly and he’s the powerhouse — he’s everything I always thought he was — but Aquamarijn is turning out to be 10 times what I thought she was ever going to be.”
This was the fifth win of a whirlwind 2018 AGDF season for the Dominican rider, who gave up dressage completely after a controversial decision by the FEI in 2012 which meant she could not participate in the London Olympics. This year she is back on the championship path, and flies to Europe next week with both of her grand prix horses. Foco Loco W is headed for the FEI World Cup Final in Paris in April, while she has been invited to compete at Aachen CHIO in Germany with Aquamarijn.
It was American rider Katherine Bateson Chandler — another who divides her time between Florida and Europe — who came closest to Losos de Muñiz. Bateson Chandler’s score was trending higher, but a costly mistake at the end of the two-time changes meant the final score was a smidge lower, at 71.234%. Aside from in the freestyle, this was Jane Forbes Clark’s Contango gelding’s first plus-70% score at the 2018 AGDF, and he looked full of energy. The winner of the grand prix, Canada’s Megan Lane, filled the third podium spot, with 68.021% on Deer Ridge Equestrian’s Zodiac MW, by Rousseau. Fellow Canadian Jill Iriving was sixth aboard Arthur, her own KWPN gelding by Jazz x Contango.
Melissa Taylor capped an impressive final flourish to her and Ansgar’s busy AGDF 2018 season by proving unbeatable at small tour. They won the Intermediate I Freestyle CDI3*, presented by Yellow Bird Farm, to land their third win of this CDI. “I’m so excited, I don’t even know what words I can say. I’m thrilled with the horse; he was extremely tired today, but he really tried for me,” said Taylor of Nicole Polaski’s gelding by Special D, who scored 71.833%. “I was not expecting to win; I had mistakes in there and was a little late in some of the changes, so I didn’t think I’d make it three in a row. When I did win I was really excited, and my owner is elated.”
Three Canadians made the top five. Lori Bell was third on Flirt. David Ziegler was fourth with Fie Guldbjerg and Alison Famiglietti was fifth riding Let’s Dance.
This concludes action in week 12 of the AGDF — the final week of the 2018 circuit. The circuit returns in January 2019. For more information and results, visit www.globaldressagefestival.com.
FEI Grand Prix Freestyle CDIO3*, presented by Vinceremos Therapeutic Riding Center
E, Kristi Wysocki (USA); H, Cesar Torrente (COL); C, Lee Tubman (CAN); M, Stephen Clarke (GBR); B, Gary Rockwell (USA)
1. Yvonne Losos de Muñiz (DOM) on Aquamarijn, her own 13yo KWPN mare by United x Gribaldi: 70.851, 71.489, 72.128, 73.404, 70.106, 71.596%.
2. Katherine Bateson Chandler (USA) on Alcazar, Jane Forbes Clark’s 13yo KWPN gelding by Contango x Ferro: 70.638, 71.489, 69.894, 71.383, 72.766, 71.234%.
3. Megan Lane (CAN) on Zodiac MW, Deer Ridge Equestrian’s 14yo KWPN gelding by Rousseau x Amethist: 65.957, 70.426, 67.66, 69.149, 66.915, 68.021%.
4. Kiichi Harada (JPN) on Egistar, Haruka Nakada’s 15yo KWPN gelding by Cobochon x Kaiserstern xx: 67.553, 68.085, 66.596, 68.191, 67.34, 67.553%.
5. Karen Lipp (USA) on Whitney, Kathleen Oldford’s Hanoverian mare by White Star x Grand Cru: 67.447, 66.915, 68.191, 67.872, 67.021, 67.489%.
6. Jill Irving (CAN) on Arthur, her own 13yo KWPN gelding by Jazz x Contango: 65, 68.511, 67.447, 69.043, 67.021, 67.404%.
7. James Koford (USA) on Adiah HP, Sherry Koella’s 11yo Friesian sport horse mare by Nico x Anton: 66.17, 66.702, 64.787, 66.17, 67.021, 66.17%.
8. Jessica Jo Tate (USA) on Faberge, Elizabeth Guarisco’s 15yo Westfalian gelding by Florestan I x Brentano II: 67.128, 65.745, 65.106, 67.021, 64.468, 65.894%.
FEI Intermediate I Freestyle CDI3*, presented by Yellow Bird Farm
H, Cesar Torrente (COL); C, Stephen Clarke (GBR); B, Kristi Wysocki (USA)
1. Melissa Taylor (USA) on Ansgar, Nicole Polaski’s 13yo KWPN gelding by Special D x Formateur: 69.625, 71.25, 74.625, 71.833%.
2. Jan Ebeling (USA) on Sergio Leone, Ann Romney’s 10yo Oldenburg gelding by Sir Donnerhall x Stedinger: 70.5, 74.375, 70.05, 71.642%.
3. Lori Bell (CAN) on Flirt, her own 10yo Oldenburg gelding by Florencio x Donnerhall: 69.625, 72.75, 72.125, 71.5%
4. David Ziegler (CAN) on Fie Guldbjerg, Jean Good’s 10yo Danish warmblood mare by Don Schufro x Kanudos xx: 70.325, 71.25, 66.425, 69.333%.
5. Alison Famiglietti (CAN) on Let’s Dance, Peter Howe’s 9yo Oldenburg mare by Fidertanz 2 x Londonderry: 70.125, 68.625, 69, 69.25%.
6. Allison Kavey (USA) on Citha’s Utopia, Andrea Woodner’s 11yo KWPN mare by Dayano x Ferro: 66.625, 71.625, 68.75, 69%.
7. Kevin Kohmann (GER) on Sanchez, Joanne Stoudenmier’s 13yo Danish warmblood gelding by Blue Hors Romanov x Camelot: 70.625, 67.875, 66.925, 68.475%.
8. Nora Batchelder (USA) on Fifi MLW, her own 9yo Hanoverian mare by Fidertanz x Wolkentanz: 66.75, 69.125, 68.5, 68.125%.
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